Hair cutters featuring rotatable blade

ABSTRACT

Improved hair cutter devices which are adapted for home use and which are designed to enable a double-edge blade of the razor variety to be rotatable within the device to provide readily accessible use of both blade edges, the device being provided with one set of tines into which a selected blade cutting edge may be projected in variable adjustable positions for hair cutting. In the preferred embodiments, the blade may be unobstructedly rotated either about its center point within its own plane or about its long axis while said blade is within the compartment preparatory to adjusting the blade to selected cutting positions.

[451 Apr. 16, 1974 HAIR CUTTERS FEATURING ROTATABLE BLADE Inventor: Abram Nathaniel Spanel, 344

Stockton St., Princeton, NJ. 08540 Filed: Jan. 5, 1973 Appl. No.: 321,342

US. Cl 30/30, 30/320, 30/321 Int. Cl B26b 21/18 Field of Search 30/30, 31, 38, 39, 233,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1951 Moore 30/321 12/1953 Infantino ..30/30 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 12/1951 Italy 30/30 Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Assistant ExaminerGary L. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmWoodcock, Washburn, Kurtz & Mackiewicz [5 7 ABSTRACT Improved hair cutter devices which are adapted for home 'use and which are designed to enable a doubleedge blade of the razor variety to be rotatable within the device to provide readily accessible use of both blade edges, the device being provided with one set of tines into which a selected blade cutting edge may be projected in variable adjustable positions for hair cutting. In the preferred embodiments, the blade may be unobstructedly rotated either about its center point within its own plane or about its long axis whilesaid blade is within the compartment preparatory to adjusting the blade to selected cutting positions.

21 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures SHEEI 3 BF 8 PATENTEDAPR 16 mm Fig. 12.

PATENIED APR 16 R974 SHEET b (1F 3 Fig. 10.

D O O O O O O O O D O Fly. 9.

PATENTEUAPR 1 I914 3,803,712

SHEEI 5 0F 8 ill PATENTEUAFR 16 I974 SHEET 7 BF 8 PATENTEBAPR is 1974 SHEET 8 BF 8 Fig. 21.

I HAIR CUTTERS FEATURING ROTATABLE BLADE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to hair cutters for home cutting which may be used with complete safety by men, women, and for children, to give complete hair cuts, or which may be used for cutting and grooming purposes.

2. Prior Art Home hair cutters which utilize razor blades as cutting blades have been popular for a number of years. Such a hair cutter is disclosed in applicants U.S. Pat. No. 2,731,717. The hair cutting device disclosed therein has aligned projecting tines which are designed to provide a means to expose a cutting edge to hair, while protecting the skin from being cut and simultaneously to avoid the collection of cut hair within the device. Within the tines, a razortype blade is supported and is adjustable to various cutting positions, thus controlling the degree of the cut. The blade is held in position to bisect the apex of the tines when in a cutting position. It may be replaced by the use of an access opening on one side of the device. It will be noted that there are two sets of tines, one on each side of the device, so that both edges of the blade may be utilized as the blade supporting means is adjusted to selected cutting positions either on one side of the device or on the can be found in other Spanel U.S. Pats, Nos.

2,711,014, 2,746,144, and 2,856,683.

The aforementioned Spanel patents all disclose hair cutting devices similar to U.S. Pat. No. 2,731,717 which have double sets of aligned tines and disclose means for adjusting a double-edge blade in-cutting positions on first one side for use of one cutting edge, and then on the other side of the device for use of the second cutting edge of the blade. To make use of both edges of the blade under the aforementioned patents, it was necessary to provide the two sets of tinesand to make the two adjustments. I

In the subject application, the former devices have been improved upon by constructing'a device with only one set of tinesand in which both edges of the blade may be selectively used. Thus, there has been developed a hair cutter having mechanisms combining blade rotating means and blade adjusting means so that when the blade is positioned in a predetermined position, it

may be unobstructedly rotated to reverse the blade position and then adjusted to bring the wanted second edge of the blade to the tine region for hair cutting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a hair cutting device in which adouble-edge razor blade may be safely and effectively used in a hair cutter having a single set of projecting tines by providing means to rotate the blade while mounted in.the device.

It is another object of the subject invention to provide a hair cutting device in which a double-edge blade from selected edge-cutting positions may be withdrawn into a rotating position where it may be rotated in such a manner as to position its wanted second edge for movement to selected cutting positions.

tate a double-edge blade which can be accomplished quickly and conveniently without danger of injury since the blade need not be physically handled during the ro-' tation step.

In accordance with the above objects, there is provided a hair cutting device having one set of projecting tines which partially form an enclosure in which a double-edge blade is disposed and which may be advanced to various adjustable positions. Means are employed to permit the blade to be rotated while the blade is totally within said enclosure, there being located means such as knobs and/or levers on the outside of the enclosure to rotate the blade and then to advance the blade to selected cutting positions.

A number of mechanisms are disclosed in the various embodiments in which the unobstructed rotation of the blade can be accomplishedas well as the adjustment of the blade to various cutting positions with respect to the set of tines. In each case, the blade is rotatable within the compartment formed by the housing of the device and the tine areas so that danger of accidentally cutting oneself in physically turning the blade is eliminated. In one embodiment, after the blade'is withdrawn into the compartment to an unobstructed rotating position, it can be rotated without striking the tines or other obstructions. In this position, the double-edge blade may be either rotated about its long axis so *that a wanted second cutting edge of the blade can be advanced to the tine regions; or instead of being rotated about its long axis, the blade may be rotated within its own plane about its center point allowing thesecond cutting edge to be positioned so that it may then be advanced to selected cuttingpositions in the tine region.

In each embodiment, the blade is mounted on a blade rotating table which is bodily adjustable along the frame to reach various cutting positions.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view of an embodiment of a hair cutter in which there are means to rotate the blade about both its long axis and within its ownv plane about its center point;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the embodiment of FIG. 1; i

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hair cutter taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the hair cutter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagramatic perspective-view of the principal pans of-a sub-assembly of the cutter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective front view of an embodiment of a hair cutter in which the cutter blade may be rotated about its long axis;

- FIG. 7 is a front elevational partial sectional'view of the'hair cutter embodiment of FIG..6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional'view of the hair cutter as shown taken along lines 88 of FIG. 7;

. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the hair cutter taken along the line 99 of FIG. 7 showing the rotational path of the blade;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section similar to FIG. 9 showing the blade in a cutting position;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the hair cutter taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 6 showing the blade adjusting mechanism;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the blade adjusting mechanism of the hair cutter embodiment of FIG. 6; a

FIG. 13 is a perspective rear view of a hair cutter device in which the blade may be rotated within a plane about its center point;

FIG. 14 is a front elevational view partially in section of the hair cutter of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a vertical section view of the hair cutter shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is an exploded isometric view of the hair cutter embodiment of FIG. 13, with the. blade adjusting and rotating mechanism shown disassembled from the cutter;

FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of a hair cutter showing a mechanism which is used for an alternative embodiment to FIG. 6 in which the blade is rotated about its long axis;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 1818 of FIG. 17 showing the blade in cutting position;

FIG. 19 is an exploded isometric view of the blade adjusting mechanism for the cutter of FIG. 17 within the mechanism shown disassembled;

FIG. 20 is afront perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the hair cutter of FIG. 13 in which the blade is rotated within its plane about its center point;

FIG. 21 is a front elevation view showing hair cutter of FIG. 20; and

FIG. 22 is an exploded view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 20.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference now to FIGS. 1-5, the invention in one form has been shown as applied to a hair cutter 10 having a housing 12, an access door or cover 14, preferably of transparent plastic material, such as methyl methacrylate, a protruding handle 18 and a row of hairdividing elements shown as angulated tines 16. The tines have angularly disposed sides terminating with aligned bights or apexes and having their opposite ends molded into or otherwise secured to the sides of the lower open end of the housing 12.

Disposed within the housing 12 is a blade-supporting subassernbly best illustrated in FIG. 5. A sub-frame 26 of U-shape construction is rotatable about the XX axis which'extends coaxially with the axis of pivot pins or stub shafts 32 and 320. Between the opposing legs of frame 26 isa blade-supporting member or table 22, the blade 20 being shown by broken lines in this figure. The table 22 is carried by a pin or stub shaft 22a which extends through the intermediate portion of the back of and is rotatably supported by frame 26 and has secured thereto at its outer end a manipulating knob 68 for rotation of the table and blade about the Y-.Y axis, with the blade rotating in its own plane.

The reversal in blade position is also achieved by rotating the knob'58 about the longitudinal, or XX axis i of the blade.

As shown in the exploded view of FIG. 1, the blade 20 is secured to table 22 by a blade clamp 24 having rectangular openings to receive the rectangular heads of mounting members 82. The blade clamp 24 has slots to receive the mounting members in bayonet-like fashion (see FIG. 12) so that the resilient sides of the clamp flex in pressing the blade 20 tightly against table 22. The sub-assembly of FIG. 5, as a whole, is rotatably supported from an adjustable, main, frame or supporting member 38. Thus, the stub shafts 32 and 32a nest within U-shaped recesses of projections 36 at the respective end portions of frame 38. The stub shafts 32 and 32a are retained in place by retaining plates 34, each of which nests within grooves formed in the projections 36. V

The assembly as a whole is enclosed by housing 12 which has elongated rails or projections 42 and 42a between which the frame is disposed, the projections 42 are received within grooves 40 formed in the opposite end portions of frame 38 to guide the frame for movement toward and away from the tines 16. That movement of the assembly is achieved by operating the adjusting mechanism 44 comprising a lever 46 secured to stub shaft 47 to rotate a crank arm 48 having pivoted to its outer end portion a slide block 50, preferably of Nylon, the sides of which are received in a rectangular slot 52 forming a guide passageway therefor. The lever 46 has a detent 56 facing toward the outer face of the backwall of housing 12 to cooperate with a plurality of indexing recesses 54. As the lever 46 and crank arm 48 are rotated in a clockwise direction,;the slider block 50 engages the guiding passage 52 to move downwardly the assembly as a whole. Any desired position of the blade 20 relative to the bights of the tines may thus be selected. The cooperation between the detent 56 and the indexing recesses 54 hold the blade-assembly in the selected position.

If in use, the edge of the blade facing the bights of the tines 16 should become dull and it is desired to bring the other, sharper, edge of the blade into the hair cutting or grooming position, use can be made of either knobs 58 or 68-t0 achieve that objective. First, the lever 46 will be moved in a counterclockwise direction to raise the assembly to its uppermost position where the upper edge of frame 38 may engage the upper wall of the housing 12. This preliminary adjustment is needed for the reason that the knob 58 has a protruding shoulder 62 of rectangular shape arranged to nest within the rectangular slot 64 of the housing. Rotation of knob 58 is prevented by engagement of the rectangular end portion 62 with the sides of the slot. The upper portion of the rectangular slot 64 terminates in an enlarged, preferably cylindrical opening 65 of diameter providing for rotation therein of the rectangularend portion 62. This is achieved when the assembly is the uppermost position. At that time, the knob 58 may be rotated in either direction and through degrees. Since the knob 58 is secured to stub shaft 32a by pin 60 and that stub shaft is secured to a leg or side wall of sub-frame 26, it will be seen that the sub-assembly as a whole will be rotated about the XX axis, i.e., about an axis which closely approximates the longitudinal axis of the blade 20. This is best shown in FIG. 3 when the broken-line circle delineates the path of the cutting edges of blade 20.

With the new cutting edge now facing the apexes or bights of tines 16, the desired position is again selected by suitable operation of position-selecting lever 46. Since the rectangular portion has been rotated through 180 degrees, the flat sides of the rectangular end portion 62 will enter the slot 64, FIG. 1.

In the new position, the knob 68 will be rotated through 180 degrees from the position shown in FIG. 3 and will thus occupy a position adjacent the door 14. In the new position and with the main assembly including frame 38 in its uppermost position, the door 14 may now be opened and by rotating knob 68, the cutting edges of the blade may be reversed without operating the knob 58. In order to achieve a relatively fixed position of the blade and the rotatable table or blade supporting member 22, the ends of that member are provided with elongated V-shaped notches into which extend elongated V-shaped ends of cantilever springs 28. These both fix the positions of table 22 and blade 20 and also yield to permit the rotation of the blade by the knob 68.

Many of the reference characters used in describing the embodiments of FIGS. 15 will be used in the description of other modifications of the invention to identify like parts.

For a hair cutter having a single set of projecting tines in which the blade 20 is to be rotated about its central longitudinal, axis, the embodiment of FIGS. 6l2 may be preferred. As best shown in FIG. 12, it will be seen that the housing 12 includes most of the features of the embodiment of FIGS. l-5. However, the provisions for adjusting the cutting position of the blade 20 relative to the bights or apexes of the hair-separating tines 16 includes a gear rack 110 which may be formed integrally with the main adjustable frame 94 or may be suitably secured thereto as a separate element. The U'shaped rotatable frame 80 in general corresponds with the frame 26 (see FIG. 5) but differs in that it carries the spaced, rectangular, mounting members 82 over which the square or rectangular openings in the blade 20 may be received. The blade engages the flat front surface of the frame member 80 while the blade-clamping member 24 is moved over the mounting members 82 which extend through its rectangular openings 86. By pressing against the clamping member 24 the resilient leg portions 92 spread slightly and are held in that position by sliding the clamping member 24 to the right so that the smaller rectangular portions 88 are received within the grooves 90 of the mounting members 82. In this way, the blade 20 is securely held in position. While in that position, the assembly as a whole including the frame 94 may be raised and lowered by rotation of a knob 112 keyed to a stub shaft 97 on the end of which is a gear 96 which meshes with the rack gear 110. The stub shaft is journaled in the housing and the latter is provided with an opening so that the knob or adjusting wheel 112 is positioned for ready engagement with the thumb of the hand to raise and lower the assembly. Due to the locking arrangement including the guide channel 64 and the square or rectangular portion 62 of the knob 58 the frame 80 is prevented from rotation and the blade 20 has one cutting edge at all times sliding in a plane which generally bisects the apexes or bights of the tines 16.

In order to utilize the opposite cutting edge of the blade, the knob 112 is rotated to move the assembly including frame 94 to its uppermost position. In such position the locking arrangement 62 arrives within the enlarged opening 65 in which the guiding channel 64 terminates. In that position, the knob 58 may be rotated in either direction to reverse the position of the blade and bring its other cutting edge into the position best shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. Thus in FIG. 6 the parts are in position for rotation of the blade 20 about its longitudinal axis. In that position and as best shown in FIG. 9, it can rotate in a non-obstructing manner meaning that it does not contact the sides of the housing nor does it engage the tines to nick or dull the blade or otherwise to interfere with the smooth operation of the device in performing the functions just described.

As in the embodiment of FIGS. 15, the cover 14 is preferably of clear plastic of which there are many types on the market suitable for applications of the kind being described.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 13-16, the blade 20 is rotated in its own plane about a central axis extending at right angles to the plane of the blade. By reason of this arrangement, the housing may be made of considerably less overall thickness.

As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, the blade 20 is clamped by the clamping member 24 to a rotatable member or table 22 which as best shown in FIG. 5 is rotatable about the YY axis coinciding with the axis of pivotal supporting screw 147 in FIGS. 15 and 16 which extends through the blade table 22 and into threaded engagement with the blade-adjustment frame 138, a threaded opening 150 being provided toreceive the threaded screw 147. It will be observed that a pinion gear 146 is secured to the blade-adjusting frame 22 and is part of the mechanism for rotating the blade 20 in its own plane to bring either cutting edge into position to be lowered into hair cutting positions relative to the angulated tines 16. As in the modification of FIGS. l-S, the opposite ends of the table 22 have the V-notches 30 into which extend the V-shaped ends of cantilever springs 28, FIGS. 14 and 16 which are secured to the blade-adjusting frame 138. The pinion gear 146 is driven by a gear segment 168 forming part of or secured to an operating lever 134 which has a hub portion 170 disposed to extend through a vertical slot 172 in the blade-adjusting frame 138. This vertical slot 172 is intersected by a horizontal slot which serves the same purpose as the slot 52 in the embodiment of FIGS. l5, that is, it is disposedto receive the slider block 50 of Nylon or the like which is itself mounted on the projecting end of pin 162 carried by crank arm 48. The outer end of pin 162 has an annular recess into which fits a split washer 153 to hold the block 50 in position within the horizontal slot 160. The crank arm 48 is driven by the operating lever 46 by means of the square or rectangular portion 157 formed at the end of a flange 154 which is part of or securedto the lever 46. This rectangular portion 157 receives the complementary rectangular opening 156 of the lever 48 to form a good driving connection therewith. The lever 46 is pivoted in the back wall of the housing 122 by reason of the cylindrical portion nesting within the opening 163. The mounting screw 155 extends through the flange 154 and is received in the threaded opening of the flange of the operating lever 134. This flange 170 is crimped to or otherwise secured as by a pin to screw 155 so that as the lever 134 is moved from one position to another the screw 155 is rotated but without rotation of the operating lever 46 andits associated crank arm. For ease in opening the transparent cover 14, a thumb hole 172 is provided at the lower portion of the door or closure 14.

The above described mechanism of FIG. 16 is assembled within the relatively thin housing 122- as best shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. Thus, it will be seen that the operating lever 46 is disposed about midway of one side wall of the housing which is provided with the indexing notches 54 which cooperate with the detent 56 of operating lever 46. The lever 134 for raising and lowering the blade relative to the tines 16 moves through a path limited at the respective ends by the terminal portions of the horizontal slot 136 formed in housing 122. This horizontal slot terminates at its respective ends 136a in recesses into which the lever portion may rest to be locked into either of the extreme positions which correspond with the alignment of one or the other cutting edges of the blade 20 in a plane which bisects the apex angles of the tines 16.

In FIGS. 13-15 the blade 20 is in its uppermost position for unobstructed rotation in the plane of the blade. In the position best shown in FIG. 14 it will be seen that as the lever 134 is moved from left to right (corresponding with right to left in FIG. 13) that the driving gear segment 168 drives pinion gear 146 to rotate the blade table 22 and the blade 20 in the plane of the blade to bring to reverse the edges of the blade facing the apexes or bights of the tines 16. The lever 134 is firmly moved from one extreme position to the other and this assures the interchange of the cutting edges of the blade relative to the tines l6. 1

If now it is desired to lower the blade 20 into a selected hair cutting position, then the lever 46 is moved from its left hand position, FIG. 14, toward the right, or in a clockwise direction. When this occurs, the end of lever 48 moves downwardly carrying with it the slider block 50 and thus lowers the frame 138. This 1 blade-supporting, or frame member 138, is relatively thin and as shown can nest within recesses or grooves 144 and 145 formed as a part of the end walls of the housing 122.

It is to be observed that as the mainframe 138 is moved downwardly, the sub-assembly carrying the blade 20 of course moves downwardly and the pinion gear 146 separates from the segment gear 168. This means that one cannot operate the edge-changing lever 134 for the blade 20 and cause any movement of the blade when the sub-assembly is not in the nonobstructed rotating position. As the frame 138 moves downwardly the hub 170 is disposed within the vertical slot l72 and first approaches and then passes the intersection of the vertical slot 172 with the horizontal slot 160. At this time, the block 50 is moving toward the intersectionl When it arrives, the block 50 will span the space between the two slots and thus continue its driving action without interference with the hub 170 of gear segment 168.

Many of the features of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-12 have been included in the modification of FIGS. 17l9. More particularly, the rack gear 110, driving pinion 96 and driving wheel 112 have been retained together with the housing 12 and its associated handle 18. Also, the blade 20 together with the clamping element 24 and the blade table or U-shaped supporting member 80 are substantially the same. So are the angularly disposed tines 16 depending from the housing. The principal differences arise in the provision of the separable gears 222 and 242 which function to reverse the cutting edges of blade 20 when the blade supporting table is in a non-obstructing position free of side walls and tines. Thus as best seen in FIG. 19, a stub shaft 220 extends outwardly beyond the left bearing block 36 to receive at an outer end a segmental gear 222, best seen in FIG. 18. This gear includes as an integral part thereof a rectangular or square hub-section 224 adapted to slideably engage the longitudinal slot 64 in the end wall of the housing 12. As in the modification of FIGS. 6-12 this rectangular portion224 is free to rotate within the larger opening 65 for that is the position in which unobstructed rotation of the blade 20 may occur along the XX axis as in FIG. 1. In order to produce rotation of the blade assembly, it will be observed that as the blade-carrying frame 94 is moved to its upper position as shown in FIG. 17 the segmental gear 222 is moved from its lowermost position, FIG. 18, into meshing engagement with the driving gear 242 which is also a segmental gear. This gear is secured to and carried by a stub shaft 241 which extends through an opening 240 of the housing and is arranged to receive an operating knob 246. It is pinned to the shaft of gear 242 by the pin 243. Thus, with the parts in the position shown in FIG. 17 the knob or operating member 246 may be rotated in a clockwise direction as far as it will go. The segmental gears permit rotation through degrees only and this assures reversal. of the cutting edge of the blade at any time that may be desired. It will be seen that the knob 244 has a projection 246 arranged to engage indentations 248 formed in the outer face of the end of the housing 12, the spring frictional action present serving to hold the assembly in either of the two positions.

In accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 20-22, the blade 20 is rotated in its own plane about its central axis but by a somewhat different means than in the preceding modifications. As best seen in FIGS. 20 and 22, the operating lever 290 with its thumb-engaging projection 292 and detent 293 is keyed to a stub shaft of the gear 288. The stub shaft is journaled in an opening through the back wall of the housing and thus remains stationary when the blade-carrying main frame 258 is moved toward and away from the tines 16. When the parts are in the non-obstructing blade-turning position as in FIGS. 20 and 21 the segmental gear 288 meshes with segmental gear 286 which it will be observed is threadedly or otherwisesecured to the table 22 carry ing the blade 20. As in earlier modifications the springs 28 prevent rotation of the blade until the spring force is overcome through operation of the lever 290.

Changes have also been made in the transporting mechanism for the blade-carrying frame 258. Thus, as best shown in FIG. 22 a carriage 272 having a threaded portion can be moved to the right or left by rotating the threaded member 274 as by the knob or wheel 276 having a rectangular opening fitting onto a rectangular or squared end of the shaft. The fastening nut secures the assembly together. By rotating the knob 276 in one direction or the other, the screw forcibly moves the carriage 272 to the right or the left thus moving a dependent leg 280 and a pin 282 within the inclined slot 284. The pin 282 may include material having a low coefficient of friction to minimize resistance of movement of frame 258 to a desired position.

At any time, it is desired to interchange the cutting edges of the blade, the lever 290 is moved from its A- position of FIG. 20 to its B-position where these letters identify indexing recesses formed in the back of the housing. They function similarly to the indexing recesses previously described (recesses 54, FIG. 1), but in this modification as part of the restraining means for the blade-table 22.

It will now be seen that in each of the modifications features of one embodiment have been utilized in other embodiments. This has been done to illustrate the various forms which the invention can take with emphasis on the advantages of the several features of the invention.

Various materials may be used for the construction of the various elements of the embodiments disclosed. For example, the blade adjusting rack assembly 94 of FIG. I2 may conveniently be made of plastic as could the adjusting wheel and pinion, the blade rotating knob, and the blade rotating table of that embodiment. The blade rotating table could however as easily be made, for example, of diecast alloy. With respect to the transparent covers on the various embodiments, thesemay be readily made of a transparent plastic material. With respect to the blade adjusting frame 138 of FIG. 16, either plastic or metal can be used. The leaf spring blade table locating latches 28 may be made of spring steel along with the blade clamps 24 used in the various embodiments. The blade rotating lever 134 may be made of plastic or metal and the blade adjusting lever 46 may also be made of plastic or metal while the blade adjusting crank 48 may be made of plastic or metal. The slide block 50 may best be constructed from material having a low coefficient of friction such as Nylon.

Having now described a number of embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that many variations may be made without departing from the invention as set forth by the claims. For example, the particular configurations of the hair cutting device container and compartment and the various types of mechanisms for vertically adjusting the blade as well as rotating it are not to be considered critical so long as there is a means whereby the blade may be rotated and then shifted into various cutting positions where the razor blade is located midway of the tines. The shape of the tines although shown throughout as angulated members forming aligned apices at their most distant portions from the container body, are not to be considered limited to this type of configuration. One may employ wire or plastic or other types of material in a variety of configurations.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hair cutter having a blade supporting means for a double-edged blade, one cutting edge of which co operates with a plurality of elongated hair dividing elements to cut the subdivided hair as said blade and said elements are moved through the hair, the improvement which comprises:

mounting means for rotatably supporting said bladesupporting means for rotation of said blade to bring one or the other of its cutting edges into a hair cutting position, and

means for relatively adjusting said mounting means and said hair dividing elements in selection ofa desired hair cutting position ofa selected cutting edge of said blade lengthwise of said hair dividing elements.

2. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said hair dividing elements extend,

a blade adjusting frame slidably mounted within said housing and supporting said mounting means, said adjusting frame having a position within said housing in which said mounting means for the blade may rotate said blade through an unobstructed space in avoidance of said housing and said divid ing elements, and

means for preventing rotation 'of said mounting means except within said unobstructed space.

3. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated,

means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade about an axis thereof, and

means for preventing said rotation with said mounting means in other than its said predetermined position.

4. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated, and

means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade about its central longitudinal axis.

5. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated, and

means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade within its own plane and about a central axis normal to the plane of the blade.

6. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided within which said mounting means is disposed,

a mechanical driving connection comprising a driving member and a driven member, said driven member being a part of or connected to said mounting means and said driving member engaging said driven member, and

means extending outwardly from said housing for moving said driving member to rotate said mounting means selectively to position one or the other of its cutting edges in a position facing the outermost portions of said elements.

7. A hair cutter having a housing with an open side,

a plurality of angulated tines supported from and extending outwardly of said open side,

a blade-adjustment frame slidably mounted within said housing for movement toward and away from said angulated tines,

rotatable-mounting means for a two-edged blade carried by said blade-adjustment frame near the end portion adjacent said angulated tines,

said housing having a size within which said mounting means may be unobstructedly rotated to bring either cutting edge of the blade in direction facing said angulated tines,

means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade in selection of the cutting edge disposed toward said angulated tines, and

restraining means for preventing said rotation of said mounting means in all positions other than in which said unobstructed rotation may occur.

8. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which pivot means are supported by said frame for rotation of said mounting means and said blade about the longitudinal axis of said blade.

9. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which pivot means are supported by said frame for rotation of said mounting means and said blade within the plane of said blade and about a central axis normal to the plane of said blade.

10. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said bladeadjustment frame is provided with an elongated driven means, and a driving member engaging said driven means and operable from the outside of said casing to adjust said blade to selected hair cutting positions lengthwise of said angulated tines.

11. The hair cutter of claim 10 in which said driven element is a rack gear and in which said driving member is a pinion gear engaging said rack gear and having a stub shaft to which there is connected manual means for rotating said pinion gear to move said bladeadjustment frame toward and away from said tines.

1 2. The hair cutter of claim 10 in which said driven element is a channel in which there is disposed in said channel a driving means comprising a member in sliding engagement therein, and a crank arm with a handle external of the housing for moving said bladeadjustment frame toward and away from said angulated tines.

13. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said driven element is a channel extending angularly across said blade-adjustment frame and in which a driving element positioned within said channel, and

means for moving said driven element in a rectilinear path to move said frame toward and away from said tines.

14. The hair cutter of claim 13 in which said means for moving said driving element in said rectilinear path comprises a carriage threadedly carried by an adjusting screw, and a thumbwheel secured to said adjusting screw and positioned in a thumb-engaging position at an end portion of the housing.

15. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said means for rotating said mounting means comprises a driven member and a driving member, said driven member being secured to said mounting means and said driving member. being supported from said housing for separation of said driving and driven members upon movement of said blade-adjustment frame from its position for unobstructed rotation of said mounting means.

16. The hair cutter of claim 15 in which said restraining means comprises resilient indexing means, the restraint from which can be overcome byoperation of said driving member when in engagement with said driven member,

17. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said restraining means comprises a slot extending parallel to the movement of said slidable adjustment frame, and said means for rotating said mounting means having a shape engaging the walls of said slot to prevent said rotation, said slot terminating in an enlarged opening within which said shape has clearance for rotation of said mounting means.

18. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said mounting means is of U-shape and has extending therefrom mounting elements having grooves to receive the blade and hold it in fixed position, said leg portions of U- shape mounting means having secured thereto stub shafts whose axes coincide with the longitudinal axis of said blade, said blade-adjustment frame having bearing blocks for receiving said stub shafts to provide said rotatable support for said U-shape mounting means.

19. The hair cutter of claim 7 wherein said restraining means comprises a rectangular projection and a slot therefor one being rotatable with said mounting means and the other stationary, the one engaging the other as said blade is moved to selected hair cutting positions and becoming disengaged in that position in which the blade may be rotated.

20. A hair cutter having a housing with an open side,

a plurality of angulated tines supported from and extending outwardly from said open side,

a blade-adjustment frame slidably mounted within said housing for movement toward and away from said angulated tines, and

rotatable mounting means for a two-edged blade carried by said frame near the end portion adjacent said angulated tines for rotating said blade to bring either of its two edges into a hair cutting position within the space enclosed by said angulated tines.

21. In a hair cutter having a blade supporting means for a double-edged blade, one cutting edge of which cooperates with a plurality of elongated hair dividing elements to cut the subdivided hair as said blade and said elements are moved through the hair, the improvement which comprises:

mounting means for rotatably supporting said bladesupporting means for rotation of said blade to bring one or the other of its cutting edges into a hair cutting position comprising a first pivotal support for said mounting means for rotation of said blade about its longitudinal symmetrical axis, and a second pivotal means for rotation of said blade in its own plane about a central axis extending in a direction normal to the center of the blade, and

means for relatively adjusting said mounting means and said hair dividing elements in selection of a desired hair cutting position of a selected cutting edge of said blade lengthwise of said hair dividing elements. 

1. In a hair cutter having a blade supporting means for a double-edged blade, one cutting edge of which cooperates with a plurality of elongated hair dividing elements to cut the subdivided hair as said blade and said elements are moved through the hair, the improvement which comprises: mounting means for rotatably supporting said blade-supporting means for rotation of said blade to bring one or the other of its cutting edges into a hair cutting position, and means for relatively adjusting said mounting means and said hair dividing elements in selection of a desired hair cutting position of a selected cutting edge of said blade lengthwise of said hair dividing elements.
 2. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said hair dividing elements extend, a blade adjusting frame slidably mounted within said housing and supporting said mounting means, said adjusting frame having a position within said housing in which said mounting means for the blade may rotate said blade through an unobstrUcted space in avoidance of said housing and said dividing elements, and means for preventing rotation of said mounting means except within said unobstructed space.
 3. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated, means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade about an axis thereof, and means for preventing said rotation with said mounting means in other than its said predetermined position.
 4. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated, and means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade about its central longitudinal axis.
 5. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided from which said elements extend, said housing having a size within which said mounting means and blade in a predetermined position may be unobstructedly rotated, and means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade within its own plane and about a central axis normal to the plane of the blade.
 6. The hair cutter of claim 1 in which a housing is provided within which said mounting means is disposed, a mechanical driving connection comprising a driving member and a driven member, said driven member being a part of or connected to said mounting means and said driving member engaging said driven member, and means extending outwardly from said housing for moving said driving member to rotate said mounting means selectively to position one or the other of its cutting edges in a position facing the outermost portions of said elements.
 7. A hair cutter having a housing with an open side, a plurality of angulated tines supported from and extending outwardly of said open side, a blade-adjustment frame slidably mounted within said housing for movement toward and away from said angulated tines, rotatable mounting means for a two-edged blade carried by said blade-adjustment frame near the end portion adjacent said angulated tines, said housing having a size within which said mounting means may be unobstructedly rotated to bring either cutting edge of the blade in direction facing said angulated tines, means for rotating said mounting means to rotate said blade in selection of the cutting edge disposed toward said angulated tines, and restraining means for preventing said rotation of said mounting means in all positions other than in which said unobstructed rotation may occur.
 8. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which pivot means are supported by said frame for rotation of said mounting means and said blade about the longitudinal axis of said blade.
 9. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which pivot means are supported by said frame for rotation of said mounting means and said blade within the plane of said blade and about a central axis normal to the plane of said blade.
 10. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said blade-adjustment frame is provided with an elongated driven means, and a driving member engaging said driven means and operable from the outside of said casing to adjust said blade to selected hair cutting positions lengthwise of said angulated tines.
 11. The hair cutter of claim 10 in which said driven element is a rack gear and in which said driving member is a pinion gear engaging said rack gear and having a stub shaft to which there is connected manual means for rotating said pinion gear to move said blade-adjustment frame toward and away from said tines.
 12. The hair cutter of claim 10 in which said driven element is a channel in which there is disposed in said channel a driving means comprising a member in sliding engagement therein, and a crank arm with a handle external of the housing for moving said blade-adjustment fRame toward and away from said angulated tines.
 13. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said driven element is a channel extending angularly across said blade-adjustment frame and in which a driving element positioned within said channel, and means for moving said driven element in a rectilinear path to move said frame toward and away from said tines.
 14. The hair cutter of claim 13 in which said means for moving said driving element in said rectilinear path comprises a carriage threadedly carried by an adjusting screw, and a thumbwheel secured to said adjusting screw and positioned in a thumb-engaging position at an end portion of the housing.
 15. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said means for rotating said mounting means comprises a driven member and a driving member, said driven member being secured to said mounting means and said driving member being supported from said housing for separation of said driving and driven members upon movement of said blade-adjustment frame from its position for unobstructed rotation of said mounting means.
 16. The hair cutter of claim 15 in which said restraining means comprises resilient indexing means, the restraint from which can be overcome by operation of said driving member when in engagement with said driven member.
 17. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said restraining means comprises a slot extending parallel to the movement of said slidable adjustment frame, and said means for rotating said mounting means having a shape engaging the walls of said slot to prevent said rotation, said slot terminating in an enlarged opening within which said shape has clearance for rotation of said mounting means.
 18. The hair cutter of claim 7 in which said mounting means is of U-shape and has extending therefrom mounting elements having grooves to receive the blade and hold it in fixed position, said leg portions of U-shape mounting means having secured thereto stub shafts whose axes coincide with the longitudinal axis of said blade, said blade-adjustment frame having bearing blocks for receiving said stub shafts to provide said rotatable support for said U-shape mounting means.
 19. The hair cutter of claim 7 wherein said restraining means comprises a rectangular projection and a slot therefor one being rotatable with said mounting means and the other stationary, the one engaging the other as said blade is moved to selected hair cutting positions and becoming disengaged in that position in which the blade may be rotated.
 20. A hair cutter having a housing with an open side, a plurality of angulated tines supported from and extending outwardly from said open side, a blade-adjustment frame slidably mounted within said housing for movement toward and away from said angulated tines, and rotatable mounting means for a two-edged blade carried by said frame near the end portion adjacent said angulated tines for rotating said blade to bring either of its two edges into a hair cutting position within the space enclosed by said angulated tines.
 21. In a hair cutter having a blade supporting means for a double-edged blade, one cutting edge of which cooperates with a plurality of elongated hair dividing elements to cut the subdivided hair as said blade and said elements are moved through the hair, the improvement which comprises: mounting means for rotatably supporting said blade-supporting means for rotation of said blade to bring one or the other of its cutting edges into a hair cutting position comprising a first pivotal support for said mounting means for rotation of said blade about its longitudinal symmetrical axis, and a second pivotal means for rotation of said blade in its own plane about a central axis extending in a direction normal to the center of the blade, and means for relatively adjusting said mounting means and said hair dividing elements in selection of a desired hair cutting position of a selected cutting edge of said blade lengthwise of said hair dividing elements. 